Budget cuts coming to Legal Assistance of Windsor

Windsor's local legal assistance clinic will soon have to operate under a tighter budget.

Earlier this month, Legal Aid Ontario, which funds legal clinics across the province, announced reduced funding for those clinics, including Legal Assistance of Windsor.

Earlier this month, the legal aid clinic found out Legal Aid Ontario was cutting its budget by $13,000.

With an operating budget of $800,000, the clinic's director says the reduction may mean staff and service cuts.

This weekend, clinic staff met with NDP Attorney General critic Jagmeet Singh to discuss the issue.

Clinic director Marion Overholt says she hopes the political help will help her cause.

"Because we have been cutting out extras, our board is going to have to sit down and say, 'what do we do with this cut? Are we going to reduce our services? Change our staffing?'" Overholt said. "To try and shelter our services and the impact on the clients on the clients from this cut will be very hard."

Provincewide, cuts totalling $1 million will affect more than 70 clinics.

Arturo Cruz had help from Legal Assistance a year ago, when his wife was about to be deported.

"I was so panicked and so stressful. I only start working at Wal-Mart, part time. So I don't make much money. So I cant afford to hire a lawyer," he said. "So I ended up going to legal aid. Without legal aid, I didn't know what's going to happen to us."